


Simulation 17

by madlaw



Series: The Simulations [1]
Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-02
Updated: 2016-07-02
Packaged: 2018-07-19 14:23:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7364992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madlaw/pseuds/madlaw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shaw underwent over 7,000 simulations, these are just a few of the possibilities.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Simulation 17

Shaw’s awareness dawning, she realizes she’s strapped to a gurney, wearing nothing but a hospital gown, in a pristine white room with mirrored glass along one side.  “Two-way no doubt,” she thinks.  Following the tube she sees sticking out or her right hand, Shaw turns and sees an IV machine with a drip bag attached to the tube in her arm.  As she watches, the machine tracks her heart rate and pulse.  Struggling to remember, the last thing Shaw recalls thinking is “…four alarm fire” and then kissing Root, “time to figure that out later,” and turning back into the stock exchange to hit the override button for the elevator, allowing the team to escape.  Then it’s all a blank.

Not wanting to alert her captors, Shaw keeps her breathing steady and looks around, already looking for a way out. As she turns her head to the other side, Shaw feels a sharp pain behind her ear.  Not being able to lift her hand to feel, she tries to tilt her head to be able to see in the reflection of the mirror.  She catches a glimpse of a sutured wound, thin and about two inches long. A flash of light and a dim memory, “The patient is ready for you doctor.”  Confused, Shaw shakes her head, dizzy.

Before she has time to wonder what they’ve done to her, Lambert, Greer’s right hand man, walks in with an attendant in white scrubs.  Shaw looks at him saying, “What’s with all the white boys; you guys afraid to let a little color into your world domination gang?  Now that’s just racist.”  Feigning amusement, Lambert replies, “But that’s why you’re here.”  While Shaw’s taunting Lambert, Greer appears behind him. 

“My dear Sameen, I am so happy to see you’re alive.”  Flippantly Shaw tells him, “No thanks to you. But hey, you can make it up to me.  Untie me, and I’ll return the favor.”  Nodding his head side to side, Greer tells her, “Oh, but we have all the time in the world for you to try, don’t you worry.”  As he nods at the attendant, Greer and Lambert walk out.

The attendant sedates Shaw.  As she fights the heavy drooping of her eyes, Shaw sees the attendant approach her with two electrodes in his hands.

The bang of the door against the wall startles Shaw awake, as she sees Root backing into the door, using an unconscious attendant as a shield.  She’s dressed like the other attendants in white scrubs.  Killing the last agent following her, Root drops the unconscious guy to the floor.  Looking at her, Shaw can’t help but ask, “what happened to just knee-capping them?” Rushing over to cut her loose, Root tells her, “That went out the window when they took you.”

“Now come on, we need to get out of here.”  Trying to stand, Shaw’s knees buckle under her.  Knowing she can’t carry her and defend them at the same time, Root gets Shaw into a wheelchair.  As she wheels Shaw out the room door, Root stops and picks up the dead agents gun, handing it to Shaw.  “Can you still manage to pull a trigger?” Snatching the gun away from Root, rolling her eyes, Shaw snaps, “Sure, kick a girl when she’s down.”

As they make their way down the corridor, more agents appear, trapping them around the corner from the elevator.  Without hesitation, Root grabs a grenade from her pocket, pulls the pin, and tosses it towards the agents, while she bends over Shaw, sheltering her from the explosion.  While the smoke is still clearing, Root is already herding them into the elevator. 

“You know they’ll be waiting for us when we reach the top, right?” Shaw asks rhetorically.  “Yes, but they want you alive.  Which is why you’ll be all they see when the door opens.”  Immediately grasping the plan, Shaw hides her gun under her gown and hangs her head as if she’s out of it.  The minute the door opens, Shaw, looking out from under semi closed lids, sees several agents holding their guns pointed at her, safeties off, fingers on the trigger. 

She says nothing and one of them starts to move towards her, while the others hang back, still covering her with their guns.  As the agent reaches Shaw, with her gun hand up, Shaw yanks her down, cracking the agent’s head on her knee.  Simultaneously, Root turns out of the elevator, shooting as she moves in front of Shaw.  

When the agents are down, Root helps Shaw to her feet, one arm around Shaw’s waist.  They make it to the door.  Outside, Root already has a UPS van waiting.  Pushing Shaw into the front seat none too gently, Root rushes around the driver’s side and jumps in, slamming the truck into drive.  As they pull away, more agents appear behind them shooting.  Ahead of them, Root smashes full speed into the gate blocking their escape.

Not wanting to distract Root as she gets them to safety, Shaw looks at her out of the corner of her eye.  Root looks gaunt; more than usual.  There are shadows under her eyes, and a scar Shaw’s never seen before healing on her collarbone.  Root says nothing, a determined, but blank look on her face.  Shaw wonders what’s happened while she’s been gone.

They reach a safe house and Root gets Shaw inside.  She immediately locks the door, lowers the shades, and posts herself upstairs, wanting to make sure they weren’t followed.  As Shaw slowly sinks into the couch, she realizes something’s not quite right about Root’s behavior.  Even under the circumstances, Root would have already started teasing Shaw, if only with a lascivious look.  But she hasn’t said a word since they escaped.  Shaw also hasn’t noticed her looking out into the distance, listening, like she does when the Machine speaks to her.  Not oblivious, Shaw knows Root has to have been torturing herself since she left Shaw behind, but still.  Something’s not right.

Shaw realizes she’s dozed off when she wakes to find Root standing over her.  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you, I just needed to make sure you were really here,” Root says as she backs away.  Looking at her, still puzzled, Shaw asks her “Are Finch and Reese okay? Did Fusco make it out with them?”  Anger immediately coloring her cheeks, Root barks out, “They’re fine.” Not understanding, Shaw holds her hand out to Root.  “Okay, Root, what’s going on?  I’m here, I’m okay,” she says, trying to reassure her as she pulls her down to the couch next to her. 

Haunted, Root just looks at her.  Finally, she whispers, “they held me back; they didn’t let me stay with you.  I was watching you die.  The pain was slicing through me, I would rather die with you than feel the pain of living without you.  Still, they held me back.  When we couldn't find your body, I wouldn’t give up hope you were still out there.  They believed you died.  Insisted I should reconcile myself to the fact you were gone.  That you gave your life for the mission and you would understand.  And the worst part…the absolute worst part…is that a small piece of me did start to forget.  Instead of refusing to complete one more mission until She helped me find you, I just went on.  Letting the work fill my days and my mind, so I didn’t have to think…so I didn’t have to feel,” she finishes, her voice fading away. 

“Root, we all knew the risk when we started this…every soldier puts the mission first.”  Looking at her, Root says simply, “Not me, not anymore.”  Worried Root is sinking too far for her reach, Shaw pulls her face close to hers, holding her face in her hands, and looks into her eyes.  “Root, I’m here.  We made it.  We’ve been here before; we’ll make it through this too.”  But Root’s eyes are dead, her affect flat, saying nothing.

Shaw tries again.  “It’s only because of you, I’m here.  I got your message, Root; knowing you were out there made me want to fight again.  Four alarm fire; you didn’t give up, you kept fighting for me, for us.” Although every fiber in her being tells Shaw to shut up and not admit anything more than she already has, she knows if she doesn’t keep going, doesn’t let Root all the way in, she might lose her for good.  “Through all the shit they put me through; you were always my safe space.  The only one I could cling to in my mind.  I always believed in you, the only one I could never hurt.  You saved me long before you showed up to rescue me.”

“Root…” Shaw whispers, her mouth inches from Root’s.  But Root doesn’t react, even when Shaw leans in and kisses her, softly…  Shaw waits and tentatively Root opens her mouth, kissing Shaw, first unsure, but then desperate, the kiss igniting something behind her eyes.  Knowing Shaw’s still weak; Root pulls away and stands up.  “You’re hurt.  You don’t have to do this.”  Losing her patience, “Root, what are you talking about?”

“Until that moment in the stock exchange, you never let me see you cared. Now because I rescued you…You don’t owe me anything Sameen.”  Confused, Shaw wonders what the hell has happened to Root.  What is she talking about? Shaw never expresses herself in words, at least not very well, but without question, Root knows she cares.  Even in her own fucked up way, Shaw has told her as much.  Can thinking she died really have shaken her this much?

Pushing it all aside for now, Shaw knows she has to pull Root out of the abyss before it swallows her.  Reaching out, pulling her back down next to her, Shaw gently presses Root back until she’s lying down on the couch with Shaw resting on top of her.  Running her fingers through Root’s hair, caressing her face, Shaw looks into her eyes, never wavering, and leans down to kiss her.  Feeling Root resisting, Shaw deepens the kiss, refusing to let Root think of anything but Shaw and what Shaw makes her feel. 

Wanting to feel Root on her skin, Shaw pulls back and pulls the stupid hospital gown over her head and does the same to Root’s shirt.  Looking down on her breasts, knowing they’ll be firm under her hands, Shaw leans down and deliberately starts sucking on Root’s nipples, one at a time, while running her hands down her body, touching everywhere she can reach.  Although Root is starting to respond, her gaze is still far away.  “Root.  Look at me.”  Root slowly focuses, running her hands down Shaw’s back.  Shaw pulls herself up to look at Root, letting her know she’s there.  When Root looks at her, Shaw starts kissing her way down Root’s body, to her abdomen, firm and defined, and gently starts to tug Root’s pants down, wanting to feel all of Root pressed against her.  Root doesn’t resist, lifting herself to let Shaw get her clothes off. 

Shaw nestles between her legs and nips and bites at Root’s inner thighs, inhaling her scent.  She looks up and Root’s looking down at her, looking lost.  As Shaw holds her gaze, she sees a tear running down Root’s face.  Shaw moves back up, resting her hand on Root’s neck, letting her forehead rest on Root’s.  “Root, I’m here, look at me.”  Her eyes closed, Root tells her, “I can’t feel anything…I’m so numb.”  Knowing she’s always been able to make Root feel, Shaw whispers, “Don’t think about anything.  Just feel my hands running all over your body.  Feel my lips pressed against yours.  Hear my voice, right here next to you.”  Still looking into her eyes, Shaw whispers, “Feel me inside you…”  As Shaw deliberately slips into Root, still looking in her eyes, Root grips her shoulder’s gasping.  “Shaw…”  Picking up the rhythm, Root pushing against her hand, Shaw touches her in the way she’s known how from the very first time.  Not saying a word, her heart beating out of her chest, Root holds on, until she arches into Shaw, feeling everything and nothing at the same time. 

They fall asleep on the couch, legs intertwined.  At some point in the middle of the night, Root must have moved them into the bedroom, because Shaw wakes up on the bed, covered in a sheet, Root nowhere in sight.  Needing a shower desperately, Shaw walks into the bathroom and sees Root has left clothes for her.  She takes a shower, water as hot as she can stand, and starts to feel her muscles aching but strong.  She gets dressed and walks downstairs to find Root.

As she walks downstairs, she hears voices and nails scrabbling on the floor.  As she hits the bottom step, Bear bounds into the room and throws himself on top of her, licking her enthusiastically.  Shaw hugs him, rubbing behind his ears, repressing the sheen of tears she feels spring to her eyes.  As she straightens up, she sees Finch looking at her pensively.  “What? You’ve never seen anyone rise from the dead before?”

“Ms. Shaw, I am very happy to have you back home.”  John gives Shaw a stoic look and squeezes her shoulder, which for John is a veritable waterfall of affection.  Root says nothing, leaning against the kitchen doorway.  “We thought Martine killed you.  All we could see as the elevator rose was you, on the floor, shot at least twice, with Martine standing over you pointing a gun at your head,” Finch explains.  Shuddering as if in pain, Root turns around and goes into the kitchen. 

Shaw glances up and waits until Root is out of earshot, turning on Harold.  “What the hell did you guys do to her?!” Looking pained, Harold starts, “I’m afraid Ms. Groves feels we abandoned you.”  Looking at him impassively, Shaw asks, “Was that before you left me there to die, or after, when you wouldn’t look for me?”   Harold's shocked.  “John and I have work to do, we’re sure you’ll recover under Ms. Grove’s care.”  Glancing at her, John says nothing as he follows Harold out.  As Shaw starts to walk towards the kitchen, a bolt of lightning flashes behind her eyes.  Her hand automatically rubs the back of her ear, where she feels the scar. 

The next thing she knows, Shaw’s on the subway with John, the stations racing by, light alternating with the dark of the tunnel.  She follows John out on to the street.  “We need to get back to the subway, Finch has uncovered information on Samaritan’s location,” she hears John say.  As Shaw follows him into the subway, Shaw again sees a bolt of lightning flashing behind her eyes.  Her hand automatically rubs the back of her ear, where she feels the scar.  For the first time, Shaw wonders what Greer and his lackeys did to her; thinking it maybe isn’t so safe for the team for her to be with them.

Another flash of lightning behind her eyes, and Shaw awakens with a gun in her hand, John bleeding on the floor.  Another flash of lightning behind her eyes and Shaw turns to see Root standing there.  “Shaw…what’s happening?” Laughing Shaw says, “What does it look like?  They broke me and sent me here to end it.  End the Machine, end all of you.”  Not caring, Root walks right into Shaw’s gun, pressing up against it.  “I killed them, I’ll kill you too.”  Not saying a word, Root just stares at Shaw as Shaw takes a step back and aims the gun.  Never taking her eyes of Root, Shaw raises the gun and shoots herself in the head.

Watching from the observation room, Greer observes the end of the simulation.  As she opens her eyes and remembers it wasn’t real, Shaw mocks him, knowing Greer’s there.  “You'll never replicate her.  You know facts, events, but you don’t know us.  Not in any way that will ever get me to hurt her.”  As the technician moves in to sedate her, Shaw remembers how she knew it wasn’t real. 

Root was strong, she would never be that broken, no matter what happened.  And no matter what happened, Root knew how Shaw felt.  Samaritan could never know the million of moments they shared, the looks, the laughs, the pain…everything that made them who they were together.  But Shaw also knows this was just the beginning.  The simulations will keep improving and she'll survive. 


End file.
